NEW YORK (1010 WINS) -- A "tricky'' storm that featured snow, ice, freezing rain and sleet made roads difficult to clear Wednesday, leading to a slew of accidents and disruptions throughout the New York City area.
1010 WINS SLIDESHOW: Storm Photos
Two fatalities were reported in the NYC area: a Long Island driver and a Westchester County public works employee who suffered an apparent heart attack. The weather also caused hundreds of flight cancellations, closed dozens of public school districts and caused headaches for the Long Island Rail Road.
The LIRR was experiencing system wide delays of about 20-30 minutes Wednesday evening. Customer access to Penn Station was limited due to overcrowding.
Service on the LIRR's Ronkonkoma branch was temporarily suspended due to a jackknifed tractor trailer blocking the crossing at Wellwood Avenue, just west of Pinelawn Station. Service was restored on both tracks shortly before 6 p.m., with residual delays of up to one hour.
Service was restored to the Babylon branch in both directions before 6 p.m., with residual delays of 30 minutes east bound and one hour west bound.
Due to weather conditions, several east-bound LIRR trains were canceled and combined with trains leaving five to 10 minutes later.
Send us your storm photos via webstaff@wins.com
The city's Department of Sanitation sent out 365 salt spreaders overnight. But with the mercurial conditions, slippery roads couldn't be avoided, spokesman Keith Mellis said.
"This was a tricky storm,'' Mellis said. "Originally it called for snow to come in during the overnight. That changed to freezing rain, which is pretty much what we're dealing with right now.''
The explanation was lost on Rafael Hernandez, who had been up since 5:30 a.m. Wednesday delivering construction materials to job sites throughout the city and Long Island.
1010 WINS VIDEO: February's Fury Hits Northeast
"It's bad,'' he said while in Brooklyn. "You have to go slow, especially when you turn. It's like skiing. ... Everybody's paying taxes. The city is supposed to clean and put salt down. It's not clean.''
Another traveler, Lisa Nicolas, was more sympathetic toward city workers. "What are they going to do?'' she asked while in her Mercedes in Brooklyn. "It's happening now.''
Sanitation workers were out in full force with 1,500 pieces of salting and plowing equipment. The department had 
185,000 tons of rock salt on hand for the first major storm of the season.
"When it's just snow and rain we get through it real easy,'' Mellis said. "But we're adapting to it and doing what we have to do get care of it.''
The National Weather Service issued an ice storm warning effective until 5 p.m. Up to three-quarters of an inch of ice was expected for the day. The winds were expected to reach 25 to 30 miles per hour, with gusts up to 50 mph. And the high temperature was forecast at 25 degrees.
On Long Island, icy conditions in Nassau County led to numerous spinouts and fender benders. Suffolk County wasn't as bad but still had its share of accidents.
"It's horrible out there. We're moving two miles an hour on Hempstead Turnpike,'' said Mike Nickel, a 25-year-old stockbroker, while standing outside a convenience store in East Meadow on Wednesday morning.
A Copiague man was killed Wednesday morning when the van he was driving skidded into a retaining wall and a tree on the westbound service road of Sunrise Highway in Bay Shore, police said.
In Westchester County, the public works employee, William White, 62, of White Plains, died of an apparent heart attack as he was about to climb onto a backhoe for storm duty, according to Westchester County police.
Penny Hart, president of Tri-State Consumer Insurance Company on Long Island, said the company issued a "Scrap Metal'' alert to its policy holders, meaning slow down or delay your drive to work so highway crews can sand and salt. The company's alert system has "Scrap Metal'' as its highest setting, followed by "Dent,'' "Ding'' and ``Scrape.''
"It is clear to anyone on the road this morning that scrap metal is what they could be looking at if they drive too fast or don't engage in defensive driving techniques,'' Hart said.
Massapequa High School opened -- but not for long. A snapped pole led to downed electrical wires. About 1,800 students were sent home around 12:30 p.m., said Nina Zash, a district spokeswoman.
Long Island University's Brooklyn campus cancelled all of its classes after 4 p.m., due to the weather.
Hundreds of flights were canceled at the area's three main airports, according to the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey. Though there were minimal delays, operations were generally smooth Wednesday.
The weather prompted creative solutions to those counting on Valentine's Day business.
One restaurateur, facing a slew of cancellations, decided to offer free limousine service to diners. Nino Selimaj says he had to do something -- one of his five restaurants, Nino's Ristorante, had 400 dinners scheduled, and by noon it had 200 cancellations.
"This is one of the biggest days for my restaurants, and the weather is destroying business,'' he said. "People plan a nice dinner out for Valentines Day. It's disappointing to loved ones who can't get out.''
NEW JERSEY POWER OUTAGES
POINT PLEASANT BEACH, N.J (AP) -- Jersey Central Power & Light Co. reported 50,000 customers without electricity, most of them in Monmouth and Ocean counties, but said it had succeeded in restoring power to another 30,000 who had been affected earlier in the day.
1010 WINS AUDIO: Steve Sandberg Reports from N.J.
Atlantic City Electric had just under 10,000 customers without power, most of them in Salem, Gloucester and Camden counties. Public Service Electric & Gas Co., which had reduced its outages to less than 500 by mid-afternoon, reported the failure of some critical feeder cables late in the afternoon in Deptford and West Deptford, where nearly 19,000 people were plunged into darkness.
There was no word on what caused the problem, or when it might be fixed.
1010 WINS Traffic: Real-Time Traffic, Text Traffic Reports, TrafficLand.com Cameras
Complete AccuWeather Forecast:
Wednesday: Sleet mixed with freezing rain and snow will result in hazardous travel, with mainly rain on parts of Long Island and at the Jersey Shore. Mixed precipitation will change to all snow from west to east before ending this evening. Total accumulations of snow and sleet ranging from little or nothing at the Jersey Shore and much of Long Island to a coating to an inch in coastal Connecticut and the city, with 1 to 3 inches in the nearby northern and western suburbs, and 6 inches or more well north and west.
Strong winds and wind chill will make it feel like it is -10 degrees tonight.
Thursday: Very windy and cold with times of clouds and sun. High 24.
Winds will gust to between 40 and 50 mph tonight and tomorrow, driving AccuWeather RealFeel temperatures below zero at times through tomorrow morning.
Friday: Windy and very cold despite some sun. High 24.
Saturday: Variable cloudiness and cold.
As always, keep it locked to 1010 WINS and 1010wins.com for the latest AccuWeather, Shadow Traffic, airport delays and street reports.
You can check for school closings here: 1010 WINS School Closing Alert
1010 WINS Audio: Rockland County's Icy Morning -- LISTEN NOW to 1010 WINS
NYC: Winter Health & Safety
More: AccuWeather: Valentine's Day Mess
New Jersey State Police Traffic Update:
State troopers have responded to more than 1,250 reported accidents on New Jersey roads since 5:00 p.m.Tuesday. They have responded to more than 900 just since 5:00 a.m. this morning. This does not include accidents throughout areas covered by municipal police departments.
Although the majority of these incidents are minor, several have resulted in severe injuries and fatalities.
State Police have reported a total of three fatalities. Two that they handled were pedestrian accidents where the drivers exited their vehicles after a minor crash and were struck by another out of control vehicle.
Every year, we must issue this same warning to those involved in minor crashes or disabled vehicles: stay inside your vehicle during hazardous road conditions until you can be sure to safely make it to a protected area away from the threat of other traffic.
NJ Transit customers are urged to give themselves plenty of extra time to get to their station or boarding location. Never run for a train or bus. Use extreme caution walking on exposed surfaces, such as parking lots and station platforms.
For up-to-the-minute travel information, visit the Travel Advisory page at www.njtransit.com, call 1-800-772-2222 or listen to broadcast traffic reports.
LIPA Preparation Tips
UNIONDALE, N.Y. (AP) -- Local utility companies are putting their winter action plans into effect. The Long Island Power Authority says it will have extra repair crews on duty to respond to outages.
LIPA reported nearly 6,690 customers without power on Wednesday afternoon.
People can report outages and downed power lines at 1-800-490-0075.
Some preparations people can take include:
*Having battery powered radio and TV available
*Have flashlights and extra batteries
*Have canned food with a manual can opener
*If an outage occurs, disconnect electric appliances and equipment that could be damaged by a power surge when the electricity returns.
Service Advisory From ConEdison
The advisory below is a message from Con Edison:
Con Edison has extra crews and support personnel working around the clock to respond to power outages.
Around 910 customers throughout New York are without power Wednesday.
In addition, the company is in close contact with the New York City Mayor's Office of Emergency Management and the Westchester County Department of Emergency Services to coordinate storm response activities if needed.
Con Edison offers the following storm tips to customers to help weather the possible effects of a storm:
If you see downed electrical wires, do not go near them. Treat all downed wires as if they are live. Never attempt to move them or touch them with any object. Be mindful that downed wires can be hidden from view by snow, tree limbs, leaves or water.
Report all downed wires to Con Edison and your local police department immediately. If a power line falls on your car while you're in it, stay inside the vehicle and wait for emergency personnel.
To report a power interruption at your home, call Con Edison's toll-free customer service number 1800-75-CONED or 1800-752-6633. When reporting an outage, have your ConEdison account number available, if possible, and report whether your neighbors have also lost power.
Check to make sure your flashlights and any battery operated radios or televisions are in working order. Use candles and oil lamps with care. Also make sure you have a supply of extra batteries. Weather updates and news on restorations of electrical service can be heard on most local radio and television stations.
Related Stories:
Icy Mix Slams Connecticut
Killer Storm Brings Treacherous Mix of Snow, Sleet, Ice to N.J.
E-Mail Story
Print Story
